Aquarium of the Pacific: A Great Travel Destination

Aquarium of the Pacific is located at 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, California 90802. It is said to be the 5^th largest aquarium in the nation. It has more than 12,500 animals with nearly 500 different species that you can discover and explore during your visit. It was opened to the public in June 20, 1998. It operates as a non-profit organization. It opens seven days a week from 9:00am to 6:00pm. If you happen to check out the survey at Parents.com, this place was ranked as the 6^th best aquariums in the U.S. This is a great travel destination for the whole family.

Although we have also visited other aquariums in the U.S., we still go to the Aquarium of the Pacific whenever we visit Southern California. It is very educational, and it is a place where the kids will love to travel around. It is a non-smoking area as well as no gums and balloons are allowed.

We went there around 9:15 in the morning. There were still few visitors around so we felt so much comfortable to see the whole place. From the moment we entered the main entrance, we were greeted by their friendly staff. They gave us visitors’ map as our guide. We started to check out their different galleries such as the Southern California Baja Gallery, the Northern Pacific and the Tropical Pacific. In their Explorer’s Cove, we saw their Lorikeet Forest, the Shark Lagoon and their Watershed Pathway to the Pacific. We also watched some of their shows on Tropical Reef Dive, Seals and Sea Lions, Sharks, and Sea Otters. More visitors started to come in almost noon time.

We enjoyed watching the divers in the 350,000 gallons of water who explained the features of the Tropical Reef Habitat. It is said to be the Aquarium’s largest exhibit with over 1,000 animals. We also had fun seeing the Seals and Sea Lions perform some funny tricks with their Staff Trainors. But I enjoyed watching a lot of kids opened their mouth as they watched the show. They looked so amazed and mesmerized by the performance. The whole crowd clapped and flashed their cameras as these animals continued to perform. A staff also explained the difference between a seal and a sea lion. Another thing, we also loved to observe how the staff took care and fed the sharks and sea otters. We can also see the different types of stingray, sea jellies, fish, and the colorful corals. The Aquarium staff members were all friendly and approachable. They interact with their visitors. We end the day by dropping by and bought some small stuff as souvenirs at their Pacific Collections Gift Store.

Actually, there’s a lot more to see the whole day. The Aquarium presents movies about whales, sharks and a fish 3D story at their Honda Theater. They also offer children’s program that is an interactive shark show at their Marine Life Theater. They also have some good food at their Café Scuba, Coffee Cart and Bamboo Bistro. You can also choose from variety of nearby restaurants such as Buppa Gump, Mai Tai, Boston’s Restaurant, and a lot more from The Pike Mall. You can buy the tickets at their main entrance or online through their website at www.aquariumofpacific.org. It ranges from $12.00 to $24.00 but you can check out their websites for group discounts. They also give some promotional offers such as free child admission with paid adult. They also have an upcoming Photographers’ Night and Valentine’s Day event. Indeed, this is one of the great place to visit in the U.S. This is a tourist attraction that you can recommend to your friends.

Here are a few photos that we have taken during our visit . . .

The leafy seadragon is about 35 cm or 14 inches in length.  Their appearance seems to be different because they have leaf-like appendages on their head and body.  Their tail cannot be twisted.  They belong to the bony fish in the family of Syngnathidae like the seahorses.

The West Coast Sea Nettle belongs to the class of sea jellies called Scyphozoa.  It is known to be commonly seen in the coastal waters of California and Oregon.  However, it is not common in the areas of West of Japan, Gulf of Alaska and the South of Baja Peninsula.  It is said that the pain caused by its sting is similar to the intensity of the bee sting.

It is said that rays are flat-bodied sharks.  If you can see in the photo, they have their gill slits on the underside of their body.  They said that most rays swim by flapping their pectoral fins rather than using their tails.  However Guitarfishes, electric rays and sawfish who have the same features uses their tails to swim like sharks.

The bat rays have triangular shaped pectoral fins.  They swim by gracefully flapping their fins.  They also used this to hunt for their food.  It is said that they can create a painful wound because of their venomous spine.

The Green Nape Lorikeet belongs to the same family of parrots.  They are known as one of the best Rainbow Lorikeet.  They are mostly common in the northern and eastern part of Australia.  But they were taken from breeders in California, Arizona and Canada.